Haunted
by Midnight's Shining Star
Summary: [ONESHOT] Kurotsuchi is searching for someone. She remembers the events leading up to this one moment. "I'm saving your life idiot! What else would I be doing?" Deidara x Kurotsuchi. (Oh mai goodness...what have I done...) Teen to be on the safe side. Light swearing and violence. Non-canon.


**A/N: UPDATED 1/5/2013: Hello. Well, I was notified that I was violating some copyright infringement thingy by posting the lyrics of the song within the fic. So I took them down because I do not want to get into trouble. If you want to get the same feeling I suggest maybe listening to the song while you read? That would work. Or just imagine the lyrics in between the line breaks. Or don't do anything...it might even be better without the lyrics entirely. Song is Haunted by Taylor Swift if anyone feels like listening. **

**A/N: Hm, what did I do? Huh? Well, see, I normally don't do this type of thing. Really. I don't. I'm not into parings and to be quite honest not really into romance either. I'll admit, there was this one time...this time I would rather forget about where I shipped some things I'm a little embarrassed about now. But now I'm just not into that stuff. Also not into the SongFic type thing either. Don't know what came over me. Maybe I'm dying . **

**HOWEVER, I've always had a sort-of thing for DeiKuro. There, you know my deepest, darkest, secret that I've kept hidden forever. Oh yeah. I like this pairing. I love both the characters and the coupling...well, yeah, I just, idk, I like it. Don't worry though. This isn't going to become a regular thing. I just...I just felt like it I guess.**

**Well, actually, if you must know, it was first sparked by some DeiKuro fanart I saw over on Tumblr. So that kinda got a bug in my brain. Then I listened to Haunted. And I thought the song kinda fit for the couple. Well, you decide. I realized there weren't many DeiKuro fanfictions out there so I decided to contribute my share. Since I do rather like the pairing and all...**

**But like I said, don't worry. I hate mush so I hope I didn't put too much of that in. And this won't be a regular thing. Unless people really like it. Then I might consider doing more. Or maybe a fic beyond a oneshot. **

**Anyways, so now you know. My dark secret. You may throw things at me now. **

**Deidara, Kurotsuchi (c) Masashi Kishimoto  
**

* * *

_**Haunted**_

* * *

Kurotsuchi stood in the middle of a wide field, eyes sweeping back and forth, looking for something. Searching for someone. Memories flashed through her mind, encouraging her to continue.

"_Lost, huh?"_

_A five year old Kurotsuchi looked around for the owner of the voice. She found herself staring into the blue eyes of a blonde boy not much older than her. He was smirking at her. Didn't she know him from somewhere? She glared._

"_I am __**not**__ lost! Just, taking a break."_

"_Right, sureeee."_

_Actually she was. But she didn't need to tell him that. _

"_Well then, if you're not lost I suppose you don't need to know that the direction of the village is the __**other**__ way, un." He remarked casually. _

"_I knew that!" She snapped. The boy snickered. _

"_Sure" He started walking off. _

"_Wait!"_

"_What?"_

"_What's your name?"_

"_Deidara, un"_

"_I'm Kurotsuchi."_

"_I know."_

_She stared at him curiously. How did he know her?_

"_See you around then, un!"_

* * *

_All she wanted was to be a good ninja, to improve her skills. But no one would take the time of day to teach her anything. She felt discouraged. She tried training on her own but it wasn't the same. Her sensei didn't want to give her anymore harder tasks. They were convinced she couldn't handle them. After engaging in a screaming fight with her grandfather, the Tsuchikage, about how she was perfectly capable of handling things, she had taken off. Now she was hiding among the rocks by the river, both quietly cursing and crying. _

"_Lost again, eh?"_

_Quickly, she wiped her tears. _

"_Go away Deidara."_

_The blonde lightly hopped down from where he had been. _

"_I don't feel like it, un."_

_After that first time, seven years ago, she had come back to the same place a few times. Why she didn't know. But Deidara always seemed to be there. And he always teased her about getting lost. He wouldn't let her forget that first time. The two had become good friends in that time. Kurotsuchi liked coming because she felt like she could forget the world when she was there, talking and joking with the blonde. _

_They never talked much about their personal lives but she knew about him anyways. There were times when he would come and randomly tell her something that had happened to him that day. And she felt sorry. But outside of this place, there was nothing she could do. _

_She remembered the one time he didn't come. And she had been worried. Then, the next day he was there. He told her his father died. He said his mother had been dead since he could remember but he only found out about his father the day before. She wanted to do something, but at seven years she didn't even completely understand the situation. So she gave him a hug and tried to comfort him. She would learn, years later, that she was the only one who had cared. _

_Deidara poked her shoulder._

"_What happened?"_

"_Gramps won't let me train harder. He thinks I can't handle it. But I want to become stronger! How am I supposed to do that if he won't let me train?"_

_Ah, but Deidara wouldn't understand this situation. He was in the Corps by now and respected by most as a great ninja. Even if nobody really liked him. He had always been good; he wouldn't understand. But he turned to her with a mischievous grin. _

"_You want to get stronger? I'll train you! Nobody has to know. Then when the old man sees how much you improved he'll have to let you advance, un!"_

_Deidara seemed very pleased with himself for coming up with the plan. And it wasn't a bad one, in her opinion._

"_You'd do that?"_

"_Why not?"_

"_Aren't you busy?"_

"_But we both come here every day anyways. We could use that time to train, un!"_

_She grinned back at him. _

"_Alright then!"_

"_Awesome, un!"_

* * *

_Little by little, Kurotsuchi saw improvement in herself. It wasn't easy. Deidara was tough but it was never too much for her. Just enough to push her limits. This was the kind of training she'd wanted her whole life. _

_They kept their meetings a secret from everyone. The Tsuchikage would have a hissy fit if he knew what she was doing, and who she was doing it with. She had learned something in her few short years alive. In Iwa, some people were seen as better than others. Some had higher places. Being the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, she automatically held a high place. Deidara, though admittedly a great shinobi, was not due to his kekkei genkai. It wasn't fair, but it was how it went. _

"_Alright, that was good, but try and get the timing on it a bit better. Like this…"_

_They were training again. She loved it when he demonstrated something to her. He made it look so easy. _

"_Now you go, un."_

_She tried, but still missed. She pouted a bit. Deidara laughed. _

"_Here, look, if you stand like this…and hold your arms like this…" _

_Deidara began fixing her position. She felt his breath on her neck while he changed her arm positioning. For whatever reason, she felt her heart skip a beat. She giggled nervously. Deidara frowned. _

"_What, un?"_

_She shook her head. _

"_Nothing Dei-nii, it's nothing."_

_He smirked. _

"_Kurotsuchi! What the hell are you doing?"_

_Both ninja turned to see the Tsuchikage. He was seething. Deidara quickly dropped his arms from Kurotsuchi and backed away. _

'_How did he get here? How did he find out?' She wondered. _

"_Deidara! You disappoint. Come with me, both of you!"_

_Silently, they followed behind the man. _

"_Deidara, in there, now!" _

_Her grandfather pointed inside his office. Deidara gave her a sad sort of smile before scurrying into the room. The Tsuchikage turned to Kurotsuchi. _

"_Stay right there young lady, and don't you dare move a muscle!"_

_He then followed Deidara, slamming the door behind him. _

_As soon as he disappeared, Kurotsuchi silently ran to the door to try and make out what the two were saying. She never meant for this to happen. Now, not only was she in trouble, but Deidara too. She knew her grandfather liked Deidara, as a shinobi. Beyond that, well, his ideas followed that of everyone else's. He thought Deidara was a good shinobi and a nice kid but he stereotyped the blonde just like the rest of the village. _

_She listened behind the door but couldn't hear much of anything. She heard her grandfather yelling at the top of his lungs and occasionally heard Deidara raise his voice a bit. Half an hour later, she heard someone coming towards the door and stepped back as it opened. Deidara emerged, eyes downcast. She ran up to him. She didn't care that the Tsuchikage was there. _

"_What happened?"_

_Deidara just looked at her with a vacant expression. _

"_Dei-nii? What did he say to you?"_

_He shook his head and opened his mouth to say something but then, the Tsuchikage appeared in the doorway. _

"_Sorry Kurotsuchi, un…" He whispered, and quickly, before anyone could say anything, he gave her a tight hug, then ran off. _

_She watched him go then turned to grandfather who looked pale with rage. _

"_Inside"_

_Later, she sat outside, crying silently. Apparently, Deidara wasn't "worthy enough to be around her." Apparently, he "stepped out of place by communicating" with her. Apparently, she should know better than this. Apparently, she still shouldn't be training so hard. _

_She had gone back to their spot, the place she always met Deidara in hopes that he would come. But he didn't. She desperately wanted to talk to him, to apologize to him. She needed him then, more than ever. _

* * *

_She came back every day but he did not come. She never thought the Tsuchikage's orders were more important than her, but apparently they were. Deidara wasn't one to always follow the rules. She thought he would come. She was wrong. She only wished she told him how much she cared before this all happened. Not that it would change much, but it might make her feel better. _

_She was there, one early evening. Thinking things over, wishing he would come back. All of a sudden, she sensed someone behind her. _

"_Deidara!"_

_She shouted with joy and all but crushed him in a suffocating hug. _

"_Kurotsuchi…"_

_He awkwardly pushed her off him and just stared at her, his eyes cold. She frowned. _

"_What is it? Come on Deidara-nii, we don't have to listen to that old man! He's crazy…please…"_

"_No. We can't, Kurotsuchi. I'm sorry, un."_

"_But…why are you here then?"_

"_I don't know…I came to say goodbye I guess, un."_

_She felt her eyes beginning to well with tears. _

"_G-goodbye? Where are you going? Come on Deidara, stop playing games."_

_She tried to hug him again. He pushed her away and glared at her, face like stone. _

"_No. I'm leaving."_

"_Why? Tell me that…at least…"_

"_I have to, un."_

"_Does it have to do with gramps?"_

_She was almost too afraid to ask. _

"_Yes"_

"_Don't go! Come on, we'll talk to him! We'll promise to behave…just don't go."_

"_I have to."_

_He turned to leave. _

"_Wait! Deidara…you…you can't go…"_

_He ignored her and continued to walk away. _

"_Deidara! I…I love you…"_

_Her heart was beating a million times per second. He stopped. _

"_Forget about me. It would be best for you." _

_His voice was icy cold. _

"_Wait!" She screamed, but he was gone. _

* * *

_She cried. She cried for nights on end. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to. Didn't he care about her? Or had it been just her all along? What had she done? Why wouldn't he risk it? She made up her mind. She had to see him again. But first she needed to talk to her grandfather. _

_She stormed into his office. _

"_What did you say to him?" She demanded._

"_Who?"_

"_Deidara!" She shrieked, exasperated. "What did you tell him?"_

"_Kurotsuchi, we've been over this."_

"_I DON'T CARE! WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM?"_

_The Tsuchikage sighed. She knew he didn't like seeing her upset. She knew he would tell her. _

"_I told him to keep his distance and never to see you again. This, __**friendship**__ you two had was unhealthy."_

"_Unhealthy? For who? For what? My damn social status? I don't care about that!"_

"_You should. He's not worthy of you, Kurotsuchi. Forget about him. I saw where your relationship was going. Don't think I didn't. There are plenty of other shinobi around that are at your level. Forget about that damned kid!"_

"_Where is he?" She said, in a cold tone. _

"_You are not going to see him."_

"_I SAID WHERE IS HE?"_

_Her grandfather frowned. _

"_I see I can't change your mind. Fine. He's outside the village working on the defenses."_

_She turned to go. _

"_But Kurotsuchi, I can promise you, he'll only break your heart."_

_She sniffed and stormed out. _

"_Deidara! Dei-nii!"_

_She shouted at the top of her lungs when she found him. He turned to face her and seemed to almost smile for a minute before resuming his emotionless mask towards her. _

"_Deidara!" _

_She was out of breath as she ran up to him. _

"_I talked to gramps. He let me come."_

"_You – he - what?"_

_Deidara seemed shocked. _

"_Yeah…he did."_

_Deidara just stood there looking at her as if she sprouted another head or something. She laughed. She couldn't help it. He looked so funny. _

"_It's ok"_

_She gave him a small smile._

_He raised an eyebrow._

"_You sure, un?"_

_She took a shaky breath. _

"_Yeah"_

_He smiled and gave her an awkward hug before pulling back and frowning. _

"_What is it?" She asked, confusion apparent on her face. _

_He shook his head. _

"_I…I can't Kurotsuchi. I can't, un."_

"_Why not?"_

"_He told me…"_

"_I know. But he let me come. Do you think I'm lying to you?"_

"_No…"_

"_So there's no problem then!"_

_Suddenly, he smirked. _

"_Yeah, you're right, un."  
__  
_

* * *

_Kurotsuchi was happy. She could see Deidara again. She didn't know where their relationship would go but as long as she could see him, she was happy. _

_But something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it. But Deidara seemed to be acting differently. He didn't joke with her as much. He often seemed lost in thought. When they trained she found his eyes wandering off into the distance or giving her a sad sort of look. _

_She knew he was trying to act normal for her, she could feel him trying. Still, something wasn't right. And though she saw him every day, she felt like they were growing farther apart. _

"_DEIDARA!"_

_The angered kunoichi tossed a kunai towards the blonde who merely caught it between his fingers without even turning around. _

"_Don't make pre-motions when you throw things. You give yourself away, un." He remarked casually, back still towards her. _

"_Well, maybe I would be getting better if you actually, oh, I don't know, __**paid attention**__ to what I was doing!"_

"_Being angry causes you to lose control of yourself. It gives your enemies the advantage, un."_

_He was really beginning to piss her off. _

"_Why are you so distracted? What did I do? Why are you always acting like this?" She all but yelled at him._

"_What do you mean, un?"_

"_You're not yourself lately. You don't talk to me as much as you used to. You only half pay attention when you train me. You're always staring off into space. You're beginning to worry me. Are you sick or something? What's wrong?"_

_He sighed._

"_Dei…"_

_She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. _

"_What's wrong?" She whispered._

_He shrugged her off and turned so that his back was again facing her. _

"_It's nothing"_

"_It's not nothing! Don't pretend like it is! Deidara…come on, I really care about you. Why are you acting like this?"_

_Suddenly he was behind her. She stiffened. _

"_Heh, too slow. You would have already been dead by now if I were one of our enemies." _

_He laughed, but it was a sad kind of laughter. Not his usual playful, teasing, kind. He pulled her into a tight hug._

"_Don't worry about me. Please, worry about yourself. I'm not worth it."_

"_Don't say that! You're-"_

"_Don't make this harder than it is, Kurotsuchi."_

"_What the hell are you talking about?"_

_He pulled away and gave her a sad smile before disappearing. _

"_Deidara…?"_

_She didn't see him again until a week later. She was sitting in their spot that evening, watching the stars. She kept wondering what Deidara meant. Suddenly, she saw a flash of blonde. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw him but then sank to her stomach as he ran right past her. She didn't know if he had seen her. _

"_Deidara!"_

_She tried to get his attention. He ignored her._

"_Deidara!"_

_She shouted again, louder this time. _

"_Don't follow me, un!"_

_He spoke harshly. She stopped. Determination won over. She followed. _

_He tried to shake her off. He even went so far as to make a few obstacles to deter her. She got over them every time. Finally she caught up to him. He stopped, turned, and glared at her. _

"_Deidara! Where are you going?"_

"_Away"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because"_

"_Because why?"_

"_Don't follow me, un."_

"_Deidara, you're scaring me."_

"_Good."_

"_What? What the hell kind of an answer is that?"_

"_Don't. Follow. Me."_

"_Deidara!" She shrieked. _

"_I can't stay here anymore. I'm leaving."_

"_But why? Don't you care about me?"_

"_Kurotsuchi…"_

"_Well? DO YOU?"_

_He glanced up towards his right a bit and closed his eyes. _

"_No"_

_She stood there, shocked, mouth wide open. _

"_You…you don't mean that! You're just joking, come on, tell the truth."_

_He opened his eyes. _

"_No" He said more forcefully. "I don't."_

"_DEIDARA!" She shrieked again and slapped him across the face. _

"_How could you? Where the hell are you going?"_

"_I'm leaving the village, un."_

"_Do you really hate me that much?"_

"…"

"_ANSWER ME!"_

"_Yes"_

"_No…" She slapped him again and felt tears well up in her eyes. "No! NO!"_

_She backed up a bit and turned so he wouldn't see her cry. _

"_What about Iwa? Don't you care about __**anything**__?"_

"_No"_

"_I…I hate you! I HATE YOU!"_

_She heard him shuffling around a bit. _

"_How…how could you?" She asked in almost a whisper. "HOW COULD YOU?!"_

_She didn't hear anything behind her. When she turned, he was gone. _

* * *

_She kept thinking Deidara would come back. Kept hoping he would. But he never showed up. She stayed away from her grandfather. Every time she passed him he gave a smirk as if to say, "I told you so." She just couldn't figure it out. She thought she knew the blonde. She hadn't known him well enough apparently. _

_Everyone had known what happened by now. Deidara had stolen one of Iwa's kinjutsu scrolls and run off in the night. The question she asked, was __**why**__? Everyone else seemed to expect it. They all said the boy was always a troublemaker, would never amount to anything good. But she knew differently. _

_The Deidara she knew just didn't do things like that. Not without reason. Deidara was a bit of an eccentric in the eyes of the village, and the eyes of most, but he was fiercely loyal to Iwa. _

_Was. Not anymore._

_And she thought he cared about her. But he never did. How could he just say something like that to her and leave? After all this time, how could he?_

_Years passed. She kept mostly to herself. She trained and her skills improved. She tried and she almost forgot. But he was still there, in the back of her mind. She never went back to their place but she sometimes passed it. Then, she would wonder, what was Deidara up to at that moment? Was he happy? Why did he go rogue? Was it so that he could more freely use his exploding clay sculptures, his art?_

_She got a job as the bodyguard of the Tsuchikage. Her teammate, Akatsuchi, sometimes reminded her of Deidara. He joked with her and she laughed. He talked with her and she argued. It was similar. Yet it was so different. _

* * *

_The day she found out had to be the worst day in her short life. She had just returned from a fairly simple mission and went to her grandfather to report when she heard the news. It was all the ANBU talked about. _

_Deidara had been seen. Nearby too. Engaged in a battle with a Sasuke Uchiha. Some said he was already dead. _

_She stormed into the Tsuchikage's office and demanded to know what was going on. It had been three years since she had seen him. And she couldn't forget. It all came back to her. She needed to see him again. _

"_Why do you care about that rogue?"_

"_Because I do! I care about him! He's not a bad person! I don't see how you people can be so dense!"_

"_He betrayed Iwa, Kurotsuchi. He betrayed you."_

_He smirked. _

"_Just like I told you. Now let's forget this business."_

_Suddenly, she thought of something. _

"_WHAT DID YOU DO?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_What did you do to him? Why did you make him leave?"_

"_He chose to leave."_

"_WHAT DID YOU DO?"_

"_I told him since he didn't listen to my warnings he would have to suffer the consequences. I told him if he really cared about you he would leave. He made the right decision. And I gave him that kinjutsu scroll."_

"_You…you…YOU! I'm, I'm leaving! I'm going to find him!"_

"_He's already dead. We just received word."_

"_You lie! And that was low even for you gramps! I'm going to find him!" She stormed out._

* * *

She remembered. She remembered it all. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe her grandfather. She couldn't believe he would do something like that. She couldn't believe that Deidara would fall for something like that. She wished she had tried harder to figure out everything earlier. She would have been able to make Deidara stay. If only she knew.

* * *

He couldn't leave her. Not like this. It couldn't end this way. She had to find him. She had to apologize for doubting him. She had to tell him she would stay with him forever. No matter what anyone else said. She would never let her grandfather come between them again.

* * *

She would find him. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He was too smart for something like that. He wouldn't be pulled in. She didn't care what the Tsuchikage said. He had been wrong, wrong about everything. He would be alive.

Her eyes roamed the landscape. Finally, she saw something, no, someone, lying in the center of what looked to be a large crater.

"Deidara!"

She ran up to him. A lump rose in her throat when she saw he wasn't moving.

"No…"

She knelt next to him and saw blood soaking his clothes from a wound right over his heart. She put her head close to his chest and listened. She almost shouted for joy as she heard a flutter of a heartbeat and saw his chest rise ever so slightly. He was bleeding, battered, and barely breathing, but alive.

Immediately, she ripped the long piece off her skirt and pressed it to his wound. She had to stop the bleeding. He hissed in pain and coughed, blood dribbling from his mouth.

"Come on…stop bleeding already!"

He had used it. The forbidden technique from the scroll he had stolen. No, the scroll he had been _given_. A self-destruct technique that worked with his kekkei genkai. Why he had used it, she didn't know. She didn't have time to figure it out either. She had to save him. She just had to.

* * *

Hope shot through her as Deidara coughed again and his eyes opened slowly. She couldn't stop now.

"Nnn…K-kurotsuchi…? W-what…are you…doing…here?"

He coughed and more blood leaked from his mouth.

"Sh! Don't talk much! And I'm saving your life idiot. What else would I be doing?"

"But…"

"Shh! I said don't talk! Gramps told me everything."

_Why won't it stop?_

Deidara closed his eyes as his face screwed up in pain.

"I'm sorry…I'm…so…sorry…"

He coughed again.

"What did I say about not talking? Geez, even when you're dying you can't keep your mouth shut. Anyways, apology accepted. I'm sorry too…for what I said that night. And for doubting you when you did it all for me."

"Kurotsuchi…"

He opened his eyes again.

"What?"

"Come…closer…"

She leaned in.

"What?"

"Little more…"

"Is this good? What is-"

She was silenced as Deidara lifted his head slightly and his lips met hers. Her eyes widened in surprise but she kissed him back, bringing her hands under his head so he wouldn't strain himself. He broke off a moment later, unable to hold himself up anymore. She laid his head back down and then went back to stopping the bleeding.

"Kurotsuchi…you can stop that now…"

She lifted her head in shock.

"No! Never! Don't talk like that!"

He smiled, his face pale from blood loss but he had never looked so happy.

"Love you…always did…un…"

His eyes closed.

"No! Deidara! Come on! Look! It stopped! Please! NO!"

* * *

She felt herself beginning to cry. She held his wrist and felt his fading pulse. She made a resolve. Gently, she lifted him into her arms. There was a village close by. They had to help her. As long as he kept breathing until then…

"Don't give up Deidara…please…for my sake…" She whispered close to his ear.

"Keep fighting. Come on."

She took off running.

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? Horrible? Let me know :P**

**And I'll let you guys fill in what happened at the end. Pretty much all the DeiKuro fics I've read don't end happily. Don't get me wrong, I know everything isn't always all sunshine and roses but I like my Disney endings just as much as the next person. So does Kuro succeed? Insert whatever you like :3**

**First time writing a songfic. Probably sucks. But I wouldn't know. I don't do this normally like I said. **

**Also, hope it wasn't too confusing to read. **

**Please, if you liked, R&R! And even if you didn't like, R&R! Just tell me what you think. :3 Unless you're gonna flame. Cuz flames are good but only for roasting marshmallows. **


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